Jesus Can Heal Us

The Sunday Homily
By Father James Farfaglia

Sunday, February 8th


Jesus Can Heal Us

"As I pointed out last week, Satan has deceived the world to believe that he does not exist, that there is no sin and that there is no hell. Nevertheless, Jesus tells us something to the contrary.Once again, let us remember these words from our Lord: “I watched Satan fall like lightning from heaven” (Luke 10: 18). He was a murderer from the start; he was never grounded in the truth; there is no truth in him at all: when he lies he is drawing on his own store, because he is a liar and the father of lies” (John 8: 44)."

"This Sunday’s Gospel passage is another example where Jesus not only confronts Satan, but he is victorious over him. “When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.”

"Our personal struggle with Satan and with evil is very real indeed. As we considered last week, Saint Paul tells us in his letter to the Ephesians how we are to fight this battle.“Put God’s armor on so as to be able to resist the devil’s tactics. For it is not against human enemies that we have to struggle, but against the Sovereignties and the Powers who originate the darkness of this world, the spiritual army of evil in the heavens. That is why you must rely on God’s armor, or you will not be able to put up any resistance when the worst happens, or have enough resources to hold your ground” (Ephesians 6: 1-13).

"And what is God’s armor for you?"

"Remember what I told you last week. We have to get out of our spiritual nursery school. We have to develop a very serious spiritual life and make frequent use of the Sacrament of Confession. We have to avoid moral relativism when it comes to the formation of our conscience and we have to remove from our soul any manifestation of sloth and spiritual tepidity."

"Only by putting on God’s armor will we be able to persevere in this time of trial, tribulation and uncertainty."

"Aside from the real spiritual warfare that we experience with Satan, he can also make havoc on our weaknesses and wounds that we colloquially call our own personal demons.Last Sunday’s homily generated a lot of interest in the theme of personal healing.Again, let us be aware of the damage that dysfunctional families make on the individual is astounding. Modern psychology recognizes that traumatic events that are too agonizing to deal with can be buried in our unconscious as a way of coping with the pain that the event or events may cause us. It is true that these buried emotions will affect our behavior unless we deal with them properly. Bitterness, anger, resentment and discouragement can be healed."

"Jesus will heal us if we turn to him."

"If we want to experience peace and happiness in our lives we need to turn to the Lord. However, too many times we escape from the pain caused by our personal demons, wounds, weaknesses and addictions by turning to sexual sin, drugs, excessive alcohol and over eating. Sometimes we seek escapes in excessive work, sports, entertainment and even shopping."

"Jesus will bring about profound healing in our lives if we were to do three things every day:"

1) spend 20 – 30 minutes each day in silent contemplative prayer;
2) go to Mass every day; and
3) pray the Rosary every day.

"These three moments of peaceful prayer will allow the Holy Spirit to enter into the deep recesses of our soul and heal us with his loving presence.It is true that God can heal people through extraordinary means such as laying on of hands. But, I am very suspect about charismatic healing services. Emotionalism makes me nervous. It is better that we get back to the traditional means of healing that I have already mentioned. I do not doubt that God can act outside of these traditional means, but these traditional means are valid and should not be neglected." “Praise the Lord, who heals the brokenhearted” (Psalm147).

"Accompanied by a deep spiritual life where we experience God on an intimate level, spiritual guidance by a qualified spiritual director is an important tool in our journey towards inner healing. Sometimes it may be useful for spiritual direction to be accompanied by therapy from a qualified psychologist who can complement the work of the spiritual director for an adequate period of time. However, as someone pointed out to me last week, it is true that when someone seeks the help of a psychologist, one has to make sure that the psychologist is well trained and competent. A bad psychologist can do a lot of damage. So can a bad spiritual director."

"Openness is essential."

"It is important that we do not live in denial or find relief by complaining to our friends about our personal problems. We need to deal with our personal demons that cause us suffering and pain."

“When it was evening, after sunset, they brought to him all who were ill or possessed by demons. The whole town was gathered at the door. He cured many who were sick with various diseases, and he drove out many demons, not permitting them to speak because they knew him.”

Father James

Posted by Kathy ~ TOG (Thank you Fr. James!)